Newbie to New York

From a Brit currently living in Manhattan, and who has lived in a number of corporate apartments ... For a corporate apartment close to Manhattan's financial district and with easy access to Jersey City via the ferry or 'Path' train I would advise you look at buildings in Battery Park City or Tribeca. Commutring convenience is v good for both, both areas are improving in terms of 'liveability' (supermarkets, retsurants, etc) and the long-term return should be god once all the building work around the WTC site is finished in a few years.

Just one thing to consider when looking in Battery Park City - many of the buildings are landleased - meaning that they don't own the land. This can have a huge financial impact years down the road when the land is re-assessed and your maintenance fees increase sky-high.

Londoners have a saintly patience when it comes to commutes; in NY there'd be riots if commute times were so long. So what amount of time would you say is the limit? And as for "suitability", would there be children along for the ride? Hate to stereotype, but are these financial-services* types, media types, what? And where in Manhattan would they be working?

Without knowing those details, I'd say something in Jersey City near a PATH station is the best bet, but I'm not up on the Jersey City thing.

Nearly all coops (and a few condos) won't let a corporate entity buy for that purpose, so narrow your focus accordingly. [i.e. you'll be looking at condos.]

As for #3's comment, bear in mind that while leaseholds are the norm in London, they are so rare here as to have no known resale market. Beware.

[P.S.--I want to move to London. New York is no fun.]

I work in Jersey City. Most businesses are located right at the Exchange Place Path station, which is one stop from the World Trade Center, located downtown on the west side.

There's another Path line that runs up 6th Ave in Manhattan with stops at 9th, 14th, 23 & 33rd St.. It's a slightly longer commute, however, to Exchange Place because you have to switch trains. But it's an option if your other employees work mid-town and these locations are great, more residential than the financial district.

Otherwise downtown/Tribeca are good, convenient areas.

Try Central and/or West Harlem....up and coming as well as a good investment. Harlem has gotten a lot of attention recently. Good Luck!

Harlem not exactly convenient for Jersey City, numbnuts. Also maybe not the best / safest location for a young professional visiting from London, even if the area is improving.

You may also consider Hoboken - easy access to lower Manhattan and JC. Also lots of young people, bars, restaurants.

But if you're talking about housing ex-pats then some place in NYC would probably be better, as they may want to have the full "NYC experience" while living over here.

I agree with #7 about Harlem (although I live there and love it) and with #8 about the NYC experience. A little over 10 years ago, I had a stint of about half a year in London. My company offered me two choices: their housing in the Docklands, near their offices, or a budget for me to scramble for my own. I was very glad to find a (dreary) flat at the western edge of Marylebone ("very central!" as each and every Brit I talked to commented). I would've survived well enough in the Docklands, or Brixton, or any of a wide range of areas, but still . . .

Original poster here - thanks for all your comments - certainly did not know about the leasehold issue so will remember that. One of you asked about the type of people we send over - typically single males aged mid to late 20's. Generally in their first job so not earning huge salaries. I've considered Harlem as there is some great value property there - but a bit nervous about safety. Downtown seems very expensive. But I will now look again at Tribeca, Battery Park and Hoboken.

To the OP, I don't want to knock harlem but I would probably look else where. While it is getting better it still isn't the safest neighborhood yet. You could look at Brooklyn (park slope, Brooklyn Heights, Carroll Gardens, etc.). Nice neighborhoods and a good investment.

There's no safety issue for Harlem -- it's one of the safest areas in Manhattan. But there's not much to do there yet, and (by NY standards) a little bit too far away from centers of activity for that age group. By London standards even that's not a problem. Rule out Tribeca and Battery Park City as too expensive, consider areas in East 20s & 30s -- Gramercy, Murray Hill, Turtle Bay, Kips Bay. They're more reasonably priced, and that age group loves the area. Hoboken's also a great idea. PATH = DLR, by the way.

Another note regarding Harlam - it's not centrally located and cabs can cost a lot, something to consider if your employees are young and not high wage-earners. Also, not as many choices for places to eat, hang out; whereas elsewhere in the city, it's expensive but you can always find a cheap place to grab a bite (pizza, delis, or - dare I say - street meat).

Although most of Harlem is extremely well-served by subway, including express trains; they run all night and are just as safe as the tube in London. And anyway cabs in NY are a tiny fraction of the cost even of minicabs in London.

You can use http://www.hopstop.com/?city1=newyork&city2=newyork for subway/bus/walk travel times.

And the "Find Community Data" feature at http://www.nytimes.com/pages/realestate/communities/index.html for crime statistics. But basically there's no crime in NY these days.

I would suggest midtown west. I used to live there and it's and great for young professionals. Try the World Wide Plaza building - all are condo's. This is where my company had my apartment.

world wide is not particularly a good deal as far as $/sqft IMHO. But do try midtown west. I still think you will get better value in east 40s or east 30s.

How long are these young people going to be in town? If they are short term stays, particularly, you'll want something central & convenient to transportation & services. Also, if you buy in areas that are considered borderline, ie. Harlem (way too far north for young, visiting non-New Yorkers) or parts of Hells Kitchen (midtown west) are you responsible if they get mugged or hurt going to & fro? Chelsea, SoHo & Tribeca are well located on the central & western part of lower Manhattan & Gramercy Park & Murray Hill are also central. I think you want to look at convenient areas with a young street vibe 'cause any of the up & coming areas are apt to be well outside that area. I imagine you want this posting to be a bit of a treat for these youngsters rather than a burden in a far out, borderline area with few local services. Let us know what you decide & Good Luck!

Chelsea, soho & tribeca are expensive and it sounds like this guy is looking for a good value. Those are unlikely areas to find value.

Midtown west upto but not west of 9th avenue is not dangerous or crime-ridden. The areas spans from times square through just south of columbus circle.

My point is that I think value needs to take a back seat to location & services. If he wants value he can buy in Inwood or Williamsburg but if you were being posted from overseas would you want to be domiciled in the burbs?

#17 is correct in the second half of his post, but working from incorrect stereotypes and prejudice (not only racial) in the first part. Northern Manhattan is much safer than pretty much all of the more desirable areas of Manhattan. The Far West Village is the most dangerous, having more than twice the national average crime. Look over the NYTimes statistics. Your employees won't get mugged in Harlem. Full stop.

Many people experience "cognitive dissonance" when confronted with these stats, even though they have no first- or second-hand experiences to contradict them.

OP, answers to these will help direct recommendations:
1. What are the subway/PATH stops closest to your offices?
2. What London neighborhoods do these employees now live in (give us a sampling)?
3. What length of stay in NY do you anticipate, typically?
4. What industry are you in?
5. When you specify "up and coming", is it primarily for investment reasons, or 20-something social reasons?

I am #16 and #18 and have also lived abroad. I think not going further west than 9th avenue in midtown west and east 30s and east 40s and if you can get a decent pricing in Gramercy are the right bets. Obviously I am considering location. I picked central places in Manhattan - not in Inwood or Williamsburg #9 which also offer value.

I just bought myself and Chelsea, SOHO! or Tribeca are only offering location, not the value which appears to be part of the OPs equation.

OP posted #10 and #1 and you can see what he has considered and looked at - I gave my advice based on that. And that is why it makes no sense to talk about Soho. He has even looked in Harlem and Hoboken.

ok - poster here again - have spoken to an agent and have some ideas on costs which have certainly brought me down to earth! Our guys earn around $40k upwards so needs to be affordable for them in the long run. To answer your questions we would normally put our employees in the apartment to start with and then if they want to stay they will have to pay and this could be for a year or two. They are happy to share a 3 or 4 bedroom apartment and we are ok to subsidise some of the costs to help out but I would max at a total This seems to be pushing us to either Harlem or places like Hoboken. Of course this means a longer travel time but certainly should give us more property for our money.

whoops sorry did not finish last post before submitting! The total monthly payment per person in rent would be $1500. We are in the IT industry. Our employees come from all over the UK so hard to compare. Up and coming in terms of investment.

I think harlem and hoboken are the best places then if you want the people to be able to rent back from you (with some subsidy). The apartment share route may also be how you really get there economically.

Another thing about costs -- In addition to purchase price and/or its mortgage, you need to consider:
--for condos: common charges (typically including heat, water, hot water; in NJ these might not be included) plus all taxes (which are paid by you directly to the government). I think taxes are typically much higher than council taxes in London.
--for coops: maintenance (typically include the same as common charges above, but also include taxes and your share of the "underlying mortgage" -- a very large mortgage on the entire building). But you're probably not heading the coop route.

I think this is a stricly condo only consideration here - corporate, foreign buyer and likely transient tenants.

I am an Ivy League grad who recently moved to Central Harlem...no safety issues thus far and signs of gentrification are everywhere...a lot going on and the outlook seems very good.

If they're working in JC I'd go with Hoboken over Harlem for convenience. Or you may also want to check out Jersey City - lots of new condos going up there, good value and accessable to the city via PATH or ferry.

#28 ferry??? please, who wants to have to deal with that!

#27 you are a completely moron, you think just because you're an Ivy League graduate and you live in Central Harlem that your positive advice about Harlem is the only advice that matters? You MUST be correct, you're an Ivy League graduate, probably Cornell... they should be thrown out of the Ivy League. Anyway, Harlem SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS. STAY AWAY FROM THERE!

#29, what's your problem with ferries? You'd prefer a smelly crowded subway that gets delayed?

#30 Check your grammar..."#27 you are a completely moron"??? Idiot! And #27 probably mentioned the Ivy League thing because of the talk regarding young professionals moving into the city....so stupid! If you don't like Harlem and are trying to promote your area just say so...dumb ass!

Seconded.

A lot of people mention Harlem. How long does it take to get downtown & then over to Jersey City for the morning commute? How about back to Harlem after a night out?

Harlem is a HUGE area (by some definitions it's nearly half of Manhattan), so it depends on what subway line you're near. I suggest you plug sample addresses into http://www.hopstop.com -- select New York

You can plug in this (random, made-up) address, which would be in the part of Harlem I'd most recommend: 300 West 118th St., Manhattan

You can check for various day/time combos.

[For lack of both great subway transportation and, um, polish, I'd rule out anything east of Madison Avenue for your purposes, for now.]

Definitely consider Harlem. Great area, full of young professionals, awesome housing stock. Transportation is simple, lots of express subway lines (for example, the B train goes from 125th to 59th street direct).

There is a section of Harlem which feels more like an extension of the Upper West Side. It is from West 110th to West 121st and from 8th Avenue (Douglass) to Morningside Park. It is clean and bright and near both Central Park, Morningside Park, Columbia University, Central Park West, and the "prime" Upper West Side in the West 60s, 70s and 80s.

There are many beautiful 1880s era townhomes in the neighborhood, and there are several newly constructed modern million dollar condo projects already built or soon to be ready for occupancy: Brownstone Lane I and II, SoHa 118, Harlem Horizon. Also a 20-story luxury rental tower is under construction at West 110th and Morningside Park beside the Church of St John the Divine. It is about 40% cheaper than the Upper West Side, but still within a short walk. Good luck!